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Students Learn Mixed-Use Firsthand

On Nov. 12, undergraduate students in Professor Mark Riedy's real estate finance class took a field trip to learn the challenges and benefits of real estate development from USD alum William Jones '80.

Jones, who serves as president, CEO and director of CityLink Investment Corp., discussed his Village at Morena Vista project, a mixed-use development located at the corner of Linda Vista Road and Napa Street, just down the street from the USD campus. The development project combines high-amenity apartments with retail space, appealing to students as well as to residents of the Linda Vista community.

Jones offered insight to the students on how to deal with the many challenges that can occur throughout the development process. The Village at Morena Vista project proved to be especially troublesome for Jones and his team at CityLink for a variety of reasons. Initial digging for underground parking uncovered a water table that created engineering challenges. The process of under-grounding utilities beyond original expectations pushed up costs. Political pressures to revise traffic patterns with a large traffic circle delayed progress by years and dissuaded several prospective tenants from signing leases. Because construction was taking so long, Jones was forced to come up with creative financing packages that "worked over a protracted period," which created additional challenges. He also had to work with neighborhood stakeholders to alleviate concerns and achieve buy-in to the project, which was time-consuming, though ultimately successful.

The field trip gave the students a unique opportunity to meet directly with a successful developer and to be exposed to the multiple skill sets essential to success in the industry. The students, most of whom were already familiar with the retail aspects of the complex, given its proximity to campus, were given a guided tour of the apartments before their meeting with Jones.